Baby first came in to my life on my 18th birthday as a gift from my then future husband. He was just 6 weeks old and a male cockatiel. He was such a beautiful bird and had a very sweet personality. We became very attached and my husband and I taught him several tricks. He was a quick and eager learner. He did not take to speaking very well, but he could say a few words including “hello”. He could also mimic several whistles including a wolf whistle.
His favorite food was spaghetti with cheese. If it didn’t have the cheese, he wouldn’t eat it. He loved to ride in the car on an open perch in his younger days. He wanted to be with us all the time and would chirp if we were out of his sight until we returned. He was never sick a day in his life and he survived two ice storms without any heat. We would bundle him up and keep him warm inside our coats.
As the years went on Baby remained active and healthy running back and forth in his cage. He aged very gracefully and everyone commented on his longevity. I referred to him as the “Wise One” because of his age and my son thought that was pretty funny. Baby didn’t eat anything fancy, just his regular seed with treats and fresh fruit every so often. He liked to be out of his cage and cuddle right by our faces.
He was constantly trying to “kiss” and loved to have the back of his neck scratched. He would put his little head down and close his eyes. If I stopped he would open up his eyes and let out a whistle as much to say, “Hey, keep going.” Every night I would open up the door of his cage and say, “come give Mommy a kiss goodnight.” He would come running over and stick his head through the door and give me a kiss. I would take him out and give him a little cuddle too and then another kiss goodnight.
He was such a little angel.
I never imagined that a bird could be so much of a companion and give so much love, but he did. He enjoyed listening to me read. Baby, his dog brother, Fluffy and human brother would all sit and listen intently as I read to all of them. My son would get such a kick out of it as they behaved almost human-like. They were very much my children and a part of the family.
Baby loved to go outside with me and sit on the back porch and watch everything that was going on outside. He was so alert. If he was walking on the floor and I left the room he would scamper through the house to look for me chirping all the way as if to say, “Mommy, where are you?” I would hurry to him so that he wouldn’t be upset and pick him up. He would repay me with kisses.
When his younger “brother” would play his musical instrument Baby would chirp to each note as if to join in. We would get laughing so much that his “brother” could not finish playing and we had to stop. Baby would get very jealous if I gave anyone else attention or if he saw me kissing anyone and he would chirp very loudly until I went to give him some love also. One would not think that an animal such as a bird would have such a personality, but he did.
I think that often times people underestimate animals especially birds and the like. They too have their personalities and preferences.
Baby and Fluffy would keep each other company when we went out of the house. I am sure that
they comforted one another.
Baby was with us for 27-1/2 years and saw the veterinarian once for a beak trimming when he was about 24 years old. She was amazed and couldn’t really tell us how old he was, but she guessed it was around 90 something. He moved very well for his age, but you could see that he was aging. He had a few episodes in the last 2 years of his life that I thought it wouldn’t be much longer,
but he bounced back several times.
On July 27th around 9 p.m. I called him to his cage door as usual and said, “Come and give Mommy a kiss goodnight.” He came running over and stuck his head out of the door and gave me kisses. I picked him up and brought him close to me and held him and cuddled and kissed him and said, “Goodnight, my Baby. Mommy loves you, brother loves you too.” He nuzzled close to my face giving me kiss after kiss. His brother gave him a goodnight head scratch. We always knew that we might not see him again in the morning, but we didn’t think twice about
this being the last time that we would hold him.
At 4 a.m. I went to check on him and Fluffy as I always did. One was very old, the other one ill with cancer. Our hearts broke to find him gone. I tried to resuscitate this little bird lying in my hand to no avail. His brother standing over me telling me to keep trying. He had lived so long, but we still could not bear the thought of him leaving us.
Baby was my little darling, with me so, so long. He was with me through many life experiences, marriage and my child, 3 moves in my life, death. Whenever I felt sad he was there for me always with kisses and cuddles to cheer me up. He was more than my friend. He was a part of who I am.
He takes a piece of our hearts with him. His brother and I will forever remember and keep him close in our hearts. We love you sweet boy. We will never forget.
With immeasurable love and gratitude.
Rest in peace.
With Hearts Intertwined.
God Bless You Sweet Boy.
Sweet Angel Baby,
| Baby |
| 27, July 2005 |
| Lynn and P.J. |